Reading Buddies Program: Building Confidence One Page at a Time

At Hope for Opelousas, the Reading Buddies program is building the confidence of our first through fourth-grade learners. By meeting our students where they are with encouragement and patience, the initiative fosters an environment where their reading fluency, comprehension, and literary skills can develop through consistent and personalized support, one page at a time.   

What is the Reading Buddies Program?

Each student takes a reading fluency assessment at the beginning of the school year, where they read aloud for one minute while staff count correct and incorrect words. Not only does the evaluation reveal their reading fluency, but more importantly, their confidence levels. Whether it’s decoding unfamiliar words or feeling anxious about reading out loud, our young learners need more than basic instruction. By creating the Reading Buddies program, we addressed our students' need for consistent, one-on-one encouragement. There will always be someone who will be there for them, saying, “Good job, you got this!”

The structure of the program is impactful in its simplicity. Volunteers sign up through our website for approval and are paired with a student for 15-minute reading sessions. Each student arrives with a clipboard, a book at their reading level, and a log to track progress. Our volunteers listen attentively while the students read, offering guidance in word pronunciation and story comprehension. For our youngest readers, they often begin with “family words” like cat and mat, inside, short, and achievable books. Students still mastering phonics are given flashcard pocketbooks to help them build a firm foundation by connecting sounds, words, and images. While the structure is the same across all grade levels, what happens during those 15 minutes paves the way for grace-filled growth and joyful connection.  

Kelly Babineaux, the Lower Elementary Director, cherishes this program for the blessings she has personally witnessed in her students. The shift from hesitation to excitement when their reading buddy arrives is a core memory like no other. These milestones are a testament to the program’s influence in our students’ lives as they venture into discovering their academic superpowers. 

Turning the Page Together

Reading Buddies volunteers are finding their calling in making a difference. In every small gesture, like guiding a conversation about a book or offering patient encouragement, volunteers show up as consistent, caring partners in a young learner’s path to growth. Every child is capable of success beyond our wildest imaginations with the support of a helping hand. That’s what Reading Buddies is all about. 

Together, we are helping our students turn the page towards being strong, confident, and bright learners.

To learn more or volunteer, visit hopeforopelousas.org. Your 15 minutes could change a child’s story.